Jamie confronts Rhonda
In this episode, Minzell family enemy, Rhonda Whittenberg is revealed to be the one who caused Jamie to have a violent emotional meltdown. Scene One Background: The study of Dylan's townhouse. Jeff Minzell and his sister, Anngelique are meeting with Dylan and Sheila, who are now considered to be the de facto heads of the family (like their parents were), although they still defer to their great Aunt Patricia. AJ had taken Jamie out of town for a day, and they were now back at home. Jamie had been going through some tough times, and neither sibling knew what to do. ANNGELIQUE: I have no idea what to do, guys. Jamie has been having some blazing nightmares over the last few nights. AJ told me that there would be nights he would wake up screaming. No medicine helps. Dr. Mannington has given him several anti-depressants, and none of them have worked. SHEILA: That is a terrible shame, Anngie. Has he been to therapy? JEFF: Yes, he has, but it is like nothing is helping him. DYLAN: That's awful, Jeff. Tell us, though, has his emotional pain been extremely noticeable? JEFF: Yes, it has. This is very unusual that this is going on. This has never happened, not since that time..... ANNGELIQUE (worriedly): Jeff.....I thought we were not going to..... JEFF: This time, Anngie, we haven't got a choice. This is Jamie's life we're talking about, and we've got to protect him. ANNGELIQUE: Jeff, we've been protecting him ever since he was twelve. Ever since our parents were killed. JEFF: I know, Anngie, but we have to let him know who did this. ANNGELIQUE: But what about the trauma he's liable to suffer? Should he find out......? JEFF: Anngie, he's going to have to know. There is no question about it. He's going to be dealing with it. Because you know SHE will be the one who says something. ANNGELIQUE: I forgot about that one, Jeff, and you're right. That wicked witch will waste no time in opening her big mouth. Remember she told him about what I did, and she did so with a lot of glee. SHEILA: Come on guys, this is not helping. DYLAN: Sheila's right. Now, come on, you two. This isn't helping matters at all, nor is it helping your brother. Let's keep things in perspective. Now, from what you have told me, Anngelique, your brother had a severe emotional meltdown when you were younger. ANNGELIQUE: Yes, he did. When he was twelve years old. It was around the time that our parents were killed by Erica. And we think that someone else had it in for us. But we're not sure who it was. A lot of things caused our family to almost implode. Erica killing our parents was the worst of it; but then I was fighting so much with AJ; Jeff was fighting with his wife, Julia; and AJ was cheating on me, and I was cheating on him. Nobody was taking care of Jamie, and we think that someone had pushed Jamie into a nervous breakdown. JEFF: We knew that Rhonda Whittenberg was a constant visitor around the house, at that time, she and Anngie were friends. Or so we thought. (The minute Jeff says what he did, Anngelique gets a revelation.) ANNGELIQUE (in horror): Oh NO! I can't believe it! Why didn't I think of it before?! That stupid BITCH! JEFF: What do you mean?! Anngie, what are you talking about? ANNGELIQUE (her eyes pained): I should have known! I had suspicions that it was her, but I had squelched them over all these years, because I did not want to believe it! This was a set up by Rhonda! A TOTAL set up! That stupid cow! She was the one! She and Erica were in cahoots on this all the time! JEFF: I don't understand! How could that be possible? Rhonda didn't even know Erica then......or DID she?! ANNGELIQUE: She had to have known her. I remember that Rhonda's parents had talked with her about Erica! Rhonda had a hand in our parents murder! JEFF: But how? ANNGELIQUE: Jeff, look at these. I found these diaries when I was cleaning out my office closet. Rhonda had given them to me when we were still talking. It showed what she had done. Take a look at this, Dyl. (Dylan takes a look at the diary, what he sees sickens him.) DYLAN: That evil bitch! No wonder you guys never spoke of what happened years ago. Rhonda goes into too many gory details here! Man, no wonder Jamie had been nearly stripped of his dignity! These diaries are VERY hard evidence. They will be needed to be shown to a judge. ANNGELIQUE (furiously): This time, she's gone too far. She drove my baby brother into a nervous breakdown! Well, I am going to break HER down! I am going to break her into PIECES! I swear, I will KILL her! When I get my hands on that wicked witch, I'll beat the living hell out of her! JEFF: Calm down, Anngie. Killing her will not solve anything, except get you life in prison! And what good would that do for Jamie, except give him something else to stress about? God knows he would fall apart. I know you want to make that bitch pay, and she WILL. We just have to do it the right way, Anngie. DYLAN: Your brother's right, Anngie. Killing her, although it will make us temporarily feel a lot better, will not serve anything except you landing behind bars. And we want to avoid that, because that would only send Jamie into another panic attack. She will pay for what she did to Jamie, and we have enough pull behind us to make any criminal charges stick! ANNGELIQUE: But the statute of limitations.....what about those? DYLAN: I understand, Anngelique, and we will deal with that one, should it come to that part. Maybe not enough for a criminal trial, but definitely enough for Jamie to sue her ass! I have an idea. I will call a judge I know. Her name is Arthelle Webber. I worked with her when she first moved to Boston from Savannah, Georgia to open a law office. She is a friend of Judge Austin. ANNGELIQUE: Good idea. Maybe she can help us. DYLAN: I am sure of that. This kind of law is right up her alley. (Dylan picks up his cell phone and calls the Courts. Soon, Arthelle Webber, who is still in her chambers working late, is on the line.) DYLAN: Arthelle, how are you? This is Dylan Harper. It's been a while. JUDGE WEBBER: It's been quite a long time as well, Dylan. Since you helped me with my law office. What can I do for you today? DYLAN: Well, we have a legal quandary that I have no clue on how to clear and it's a case that is right up your alley. This has to do with some diary entries. Anngelique Minzell brought me some diaries that her former friend, Rhonda Whittenberg, gave her. One of said diaries has some very incriminating entries which has something to do with Anngelique's brother, Jamie, and a nervous breakdown he had some years back, when he was a child. JUDGE WEBBER: Wow, sounds like a very tricky case. I would love to see that diary, if it is in your possession. DYLAN: Yes, that is doable, Anngelique has the diary in question here with her. JUDGE WEBBER: I think we can make an arrangement for you to come to the courthouse after hours. so you can confront this woman with this information. DYLAN: Good, I will arrange a time when we can all be there. JUDGE WEBBER: I will be here for you on this one. DYLAN: All right, thank you, Arthelle. JUDGE WEBBER: You are quite welcome. (Dylan ends the call, and smiles at Anngelique.) DYLAN: OK, it is all arranged. This is what we will do, you two go get Jamie and AJ, have them meet us at the Courthouse. Sheila and I will meet you at the Courthouse. We'll see to it that Rhonda gets there too. Judge Webber is getting us a time as quickly as possible. ANNGELIQUE: Thank you, Dylan. I hope this stops her once and for all. DYLAN: I will say this though, and a word of caution, Anngelique, we might be tripped up on the statute of limitations, but there is some real concrete evidence that shows what Rhonda did to him. So, I am thinking statute of limitations won't apply. It won't be enough to bring her to criminal trial, but there is enough on her that Jamie could well sue her, and win against her. ANNGELIQUE: Anything will do. I just to put her thrall over my family to an end, and help Jamie to finally heal. That is all I care about right now. JEFF: And we will, Anngie. Rhonda's hold over our family ends right now! (They set off to get Jamie and AJ.) Scene Two Background: The Suffolk County Courthouse, after hours. Judge Arthelle Webber's courtroom. Judge Webber is on the bench; as well as her bailiff and a court reporter. Both are taking overtime to help here. Dylan, Sheila, Jeff, AJ, Jamie and Anngelique are also in the courtroom along with Allegra Whittenberg, while Rhonda saunters in. JUDGE WEBBER (sarcastically): Well, I am glad to see you showed up, Ms. Whittenberg. RHONDA (snobbishly): Who cares? I certainly don't. I am immune from all this! JUDGE WEBBER (sternly): Let me be quite clear here! This is merely an evidenciary hearing. Ms. Whittenberg, there is some evidence that has been brought about, and that is wanting to be revealed to you. Also, you are here to answer questions about a nervous breakdown that you caused Jamie Minzell to have when he was a child. That is why you are here. RHONDA (snobbishly): If that is what this is all about, then I am leaving! I did nothing wrong. (All of a sudden, Jamie realizes it! When he sees Rhonda and her evil grin, it all comes back to him. He moans.) JUDGE WEBBER (concerned): Are you all right, Jamie? SHEILA: Jamie, what's wrong? JEFF (rushing to his brother's side): Jaim, what's wrong? What is it? AJ (putting his arm around his shaken boyfriend): Jamie? Baby, are you all right? ANNGELIQUE (her eyes fearful): What's wrong, sweetie? JAMIE (in pain): It was HER! ALLEGRA (gently): What did she do to you, Jamie? JUDGE WEBBER (gently): Did she hurt you in any way? JAMIE (pointing at Rhonda, his voice shaking): She taunted me! After Mom and Dad were killed. She came over, and she was looking for you, Anngie. While she was waiting for you, she began to brag about what was going on. She was mocking me! She rubbed it in about what she and Erica had done to our parents. She literally bragged about what she did to us! She was taunting me constantly! I couldn't deal with it! I fell apart, I completely melted down and she had me shipped to a mental hospital! (Everyone is infuriated; Anngelique glares daggers at Rhonda as if she could murder her!) ANNGELIQUE (in a deadly voice): You didn't! You didn't hurt my baby brother like that. not even YOU could be that heartless! RHONDA (smugly): Yes, I did! (Jamie breaks down weeping, AJ going right straight to his boyfriend, holding him close. Dylan and Sheila were also there to comfort him. Jeff is incensed with Rhonda's callous and dismissive gloating.) JEFF (exploding in rage): You damned BITCH! You had my brother shipped off to a mental hospital! This was YOUR doing! YOUR DOING ALL ALONG! You evil bitch! RHONDA (laughing): Yes, I did it! And I am PROUD of it! I would do it again too, in the exact same way! I caused your brother to have a nervous breakdown, and I lied about it to have him institutionalized! ANNGELIQUE (her eyes spitting fire): You've gone WAY too far! I have warned you not to mess with my family! Well, this time, I am gonna destroy you, you evil BITCH! JAMIE (in a calm voice, he has recovered his composure nicely): No, Angie. This time, I am going to take care of business! I want to destroy her and I am aiming to! But I am going to do it the best way I know how. With WORDS! My stock in trade. RHONDA: Ha! I sent you away, and I will succeed in doing it again! JAMIE (vehemently but calmly): No, you will not! Because you will not do so. And you want to know why you will not do so?! Because I am a lot more stronger than you are. I am no longer that scared twelve year old little boy whose world was shattered....by you! You said that what you did to me was for the common good! BULL! It wasn't for the common good, it was for the good of you! You wanted to see my family decimated, and, my GOD, you evil bitch, you got your wish! But guess what?! We're stronger than any of your stupid little conniving schemes! You nearly turned my life upside down, and I am going on notice here to inform you, that I am going to sue you! You are going to be SUNK, Madame! You tried to destroy me, tried to destroy my family and also tried to destroy my mental sanity, but you failed in all three counts, and you know why?! Because I DO have people who love me! My brother, my sister, my boyfriend, and those I consider my friends! You are NOTHING! You never WILL BE anything! You are an evil, vindictive, selfish, and unscrupulous woman! You have no decency! I hope you see what will be your downfall! Judge, those diary entries are truthful! The woman bragged about them to me, the night she taunted me into a nervous breakdown and her sending me to an institution! This was her conniving! I hope she is made to pay for what she did! JUDGE WEBBER: She will, Jamie. I will assure you of that. She will not get away with this. This record is pretty detailed. And she had it planned to the last detail. She has no shame, and no decency. I will enter a judgment against her for the full $5,000. Ms. Rhonda Whittenberg, you are a despicable, no-good, TRIFLING woman! I have no liking for you, or your tactics. You make me sick. I don't ever want to see you again! (Rhonda is infuriated. She attempts to streak at Jamie, and try to get her hands around his neck, but is stopped by Anngelique. Undaunted, she also aims her anger at Dylan, and also tries to strangle him, but she is stopped forcibly by Sheila.) SHEILA: You leave your hands off of my cousin! If you even think about touching him again, I will have you locked up for assault! RHONDA: Go to hell, Watkins! I will win! SHEILA: You will be the one in hell, you bitch! You've ruined everyone's lives! RHONDA: If you had kept your damned nose out of my business. DYLAN: You stupid woman! You were the one who MADE it our business! ANNGELIQUE: I will see to it that you will NEVER harm my brother again! JEFF (in anger, as he comes to his brother and puts a protective arm around him): GET OUT OF OUR SIGHT! I have no liking for you, Rhonda! You nearly harmed Jamie past the point of fixing, and I will NOT ever tolerate you being around him! DYLAN: I have only one thing to say to you, Rhonda Whittenberg! RHONDA (scoffing): What?! DYLAN (in a voice of hardest steel, his late father and grandfather would have been very proud): Get out of Boston! Don't you EVER come around my city again! (Shooting her his famous Harper Glare) If I ever find out that you set foot in this city again, I will use all the power I have, and you can be sure, it is VERY substantial, to make your life a living hell! RHONDA: Where am I to go? DYLAN (coldly): Straight to hell! But failing that, anywhere, just not around here! ANNGELIQUE: Dylan's right. Go anywhere, just as long as it's not anywhere around here! Get out of our lives! RHONDA: You cannot order me out of Boston! DYLAN: Try me! But as galling as it is to admit, you are right. You want to stay here? Fine! By all means, do so. Be warned, however, we will make you so damned miserable that you will be BEGGING to leave! RHONDA: You bastard! This is the thanks I get for helping! AJ (right next to Jeff, protecting Jamie): Help?! All you did was destroy Jamie and his family! You institutionalized Jamie, lied to everyone; and I just bet that it was YOU who caused all this! Erica may have killed their parents, but you destroyed them in every other way! You call that "help"? I don't call it help! I call it sticking your nose into business that doesn't concern you! Get out of here! LEAVE! As God is my witness, you are one of the most evil women I have ever seen! RHONDA: You cannot defeat me! ANNGELIQUE (shaking with rage): I think you just GOT defeated! Now, get the hell out of here! (A furious Rhonda storms out of the courtroom. The rest of them are exhausted.) JAMIE: I just want to go home, AJ. I am exhausted. AJ: All right, babe, we'll get ya home. You were very brave tonight, honey. I am proud of you. I really do love you. JAMIE: And I love you too, AJ. ANNGELIQUE (grateful for her ex-husband being in her brother's life): Thanks, Johnny Boy. For you loving Jamie enough to finally getting this familial nightmare ended. AJ (grinning at his sparring partner): Anytime, Minz. Anything for Jamie. JEFF: Thanks, AJ. You take care of Jamie, all right? AJ: I will, Jeff. I will make sure he is protected and that he is loved and taken care of. DYLAN: You guys need a ride home? AJ: I drove Jamie here. I would love to get something to eat. JAMIE: I admit, I am hungry. I can wait to go home. Any place open? ANNGELIQUE: A victory dinner! For the end of this! DYLAN: Any suggestions? SHEILA (smiling): How about a DQ? I know a real good 24 hour one over in Cambridge. ALLEGRA (astonished): A DQ? SHEILA: Sure, Allegra. Even us Harpers have a hankering for a good old fashioned DQ soft serve once in a while. We can't always have haute cuisine. DYLAN: I'm for that! JEFF: Me too. JAMIE: Same here. ANNGELIQUE: Make it unanimous. ALLEGRA: I agree. You all convinced me. AJ: Then to the DQ we all will go. ALLEGRA: This is a great bunch! You all are. DYLAN: Want to join us, Arthelle? JUDGE WEBBER (smiling): You know? I would really like that. I haven't had a good DQ meal in a long time, not since I lived in Savannah. And Adrianne told me about that specific DQ. Sure, count me in. SHEILA: Welcome aboard, your honor! (Just then, Adrianne Austin comes in.) JUDGE AUSTIN: Does that invite include me? DYLAN (grinning): Of course. It will be an honor to have two judges with us. JUDGE AUSTIN: Thank you, my dear. (While Dylan and the others are celebrating and leaving the court room for the DQ, Rhonda is hauled away! She is furious, but her jig is up! She will be sent back to prison! The scene fades.) Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Anngelique Minzell Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila Category:Catfight episodes